To achieve the effect he wanted in printing one of the works in his latest volume of poetry, London book artist and poet Ken Campbell ran the page through the press over 66,000 times. The process of repeatedly running pages through the press allows him to print not only from type in the ordinary way, but to use ornaments, rules, borders and even such substances as wood, linoleum and pieces of metal to produce his books. The result is that in most of his books there is, as one critic described it, a tension "between the reigned-in anger and dark foreboding of the text and images and the fact that the works are delicately made, elegant vehicles designed to be handled with care and respect."
That latest volume of poetry, called "The Word Returned," is one of 19 of Mr. Campbell's books that will be on display in a new retrospective exhibition of the artist's works at the Yale Center for British Art. The exhibition, which opens on Sunday, Aug. 3, includes volumes drawn from the center's own collection of rare books as well as prints, paintings and sculpture on loan from Mr. Campbell, who also has lent a number of objects that allow a glimpse of both the creative process and the physical aspects of producing his books. These include proof sheets of printed pages, everyday objects and actual letterpress forms assembled with type and ready for printing. A videotape, produced especially for the exhibition, will allow visitors to see the books opened page by page.
Born in 1939 and still, as he puts it, "crawling from the wreckage," Mr. Campbell is considered one of the most innovative book artists working in London today. He trained as a letterpress printer and then as a graphic designer at the London College of Printing during the early 1960s, where one of his teachers was H.C. Beck, designer of the London Underground map. "The Word Returned" was completed in April of this year.
The exhibition is being organized by Elisabeth Fairman, associate curator for rare books at the center, with the help of Mr. Campbell. An illustrated catalogue will accompany the exhibition and will include an essay by Johanna Drucker, associate professor of contemporary art and theory at Yale and author of the recently published "The Century of Artists' Books."
Mr. Campbell will speak about his work on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 4 p.m. in the lecture hall of the center. A gallery talk by Ms. Fairman and a lecture by Ms. Drucker as part of the "Art in Context Series" will be offered in September and October dates will be announced in future issues of the Yale Bulletin & Calendar . The exhibit will run through Nov. 3.
The Yale Center for British Art, located at 1080 Chapel St., is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, noon-5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 432-2850.